The present invention relates to marine propulsion drives, and more particularly to a water deflector or splash guard for an outboard motor.
During operation of some outboard motors, water can on occasion splash, spray and flow onto the engine cowl, trim bracket assembly and motor mounting assemlby of the outboard motor and create unsightly water spray. Besides the undesirable effect of water splashing and spraying at the exterior of the engine such water action increases the possiblilty of corrosion in salt water applications. Such undesirable water action is particularly demonstrated with conventional boats having deep V or notched hulls since these types of boats tend to demonstrate undesirable water at their stern during forward operation. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a device which would tend to divert water away from the outboard motor, the motor mounting area, and the boat transom during forward operation of a boat.
Various types of splash guards have been proposed and are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,860,594 and 2,442,728 show outboard motors with splash guards integrally cast on the drive shaft housing, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,657,513 shows a water deflector mounted on the lower end of a transom bracket for an outboard motor. There remains a need, however, for an improved splash guard that not only is effective to reduce water splashing and spraying but also may be easily mounted on an outboard motor in a location and with a design that does not inhibit motor performance.